I already told you that my brother-in-law works for Sony on the Alpha project. Here is some more info, some is repeated from my previous posts. The advanced model will be 14.* MP and close to FF. It will have 1.25x factor and a switch for lenses with 1.5 factor. It will be called A300. Because of the pixel pattern similar to Sony ClearVid CMOS sensors, Sony will claim up to 2x effective pixel resolution. The flagship model will be called A500 and will be 100% full frame. Nikon is supplying Sony new steppers to create FF sensors in one shot. Sony first joined forces with Konica Minolta, now with Nikon. This gives to both Sony and Nikon advantage over Canon, which Sony believes will eventually drop to a 3rd place; Sony will move up to 2nd place in overall volume of DSLR’s sales. The least expensive Sony DSLR will not have optical viewfinder and will be called A50. The flagship model will be 20 MP, 40 effective. That is the reason why Sony concentrates on top quality glass. Sony’s advantage will be fact that they are the foremost sensor maker; their output is several times higher than Matsushita, which is second largest CCD maker.”

The 2 DSLR prototypes that were shown at different shows by Sony were no wooden mock ups, but the actual cameras that will be produced. The same goes for the lenses. All these were pretty much final prototypes, but Sony could not disclose this due to its competition. The main thing that is holding these projects up is development of SSS which has to work harder with larger sensors; the insides of the cameras may be a little different than on the prototypes shown, not the outsides. That was finalized before showing them to the public.

“Sony was originally going to buy the Contax brand from Kyocera, but then used this infomation in its negotiations with KM, from whom they managed to get the DSLR division with all its expertise for pennies on the dollar. KM really wanted the DSLR division to be in the best hands; they cared about it more than about anything else; the Minolta portion of the KM team wanted to see the legacy of the system to continue and to improve as much as possible. The decision to sell to Sony was rather emotional.